Greg and Sharri
Friday started with a re-iteration of greenhouse protocol and procedure. Following this we were given a thorough run through of the Priva system and how to access it via the student computer. The Priva system allows for total automation of all the greenhouse systems and is vital for keeping the poinsettia crop in a healthy state. Poinsettias require very specific day and night temperatures for optimal growth. According to Ball, if the nighttime temperature in the greenhouse is lower than 17C and the daytime temperature is lower than 21C the flowering is reduced, as well as affecting the bract size. Conversely, if the nighttime temperature in the greenhouse is greater than 17C and the daytime temperature is greater than 21C the flowering speeds up, bract colouring is reduced, and plant quality suffers. Priva allows the average temperatures in the greenhouse to be kept at optimal. Our day continued with the replacing of the yellow sticky cards hanging 8” above the crop in the greenhouse. Unfortunately, the whitefly counts are increasing but there are some new pests floating about - thrips and fungus gnats!
The yellow sticky cards allow us to monitor pest situations in the greenhouse and decide when action must be taken against them - this is done by establishing a threshold limit. A threshold limit will vary depending on the crop and why it is being grown. If the crop is being grown more for aesthetics (eg. flowers, bracts) then your threshold limit may be reached much sooner than if it was grown for another reason. Determining an appropriate limit for your crop may be determined by taking a random sampling of plants, counting the pests per plant, and then averaging the pests out over your entire test sampling.
Greg and Jeff proceeded with the installation of the final few blackout curtains, and I printed out and lamenated the greenhouse blackout signs for the greenhouse doors. The blackout period for the poinsettia crop commences September 28th, and ensuring total darkness for them is imperative if their bracts are to properly “colour-up”. Any disruption and the blackout period will have to be re-started, thus delaying the availability of the crop for sale.
Our day ended with some good old fashioned cleaning in the form of scrubbing and sanitizing the fridge and knocking down some pesky cobwebs... Proper cleaning/sanitizing is of course very important to ensure a nice sterile greenhouse environment and prevent any bugs or pathogens from thriving.
After doing our greenhouse check-list and walking the crop, our Saturday travails continued with the digging up of various cultivars of Canna lilies (Cannna indica), Colecacia gigantean (Giant Elephant Ears), and Colecacia esculenta (Elephant Ears) around the campus. Our goal - sort and crate them for storage over the winter as these plants are tropical and could never survive our frigid temperatures. This was no easy task as some of these beauties were rather large in size! After wrangling for an extended period of time with them, we managed to get them all (save some Giant Elephant Ears) cozy for winter in their crates with their Pro-Mix blankets…
A valiant attempt was made at naming the specific Canna indica cultivars, but only a few received monikers.
Sunday September 21st - the final day of greenhouse duty…
Our last day was spent taking care of some loose ends from the previous days. We started by completing the storing of the Elephant Ears by arranging them in a bulb crate, tying them together to make their large leaves more manageable, and packing them tightly with some Pro-mix soil. We also began the preparations for propagation chambers by lining the bottom by weaving a heating cable lengthwise through the box. It was important to make sure the cable was spaced evenly to ensure that an even spread of heat is distributed into the media.
The afternoon consisted primarily of cleaning and other housekeeping duties to prepare for the next group tending to the greenhouse.
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